Purpose – This paper aims to examine the effects of market orientation and organizational learning on individual e-business adoption functions and firm performance in the context of Chinese firms. Design/methodology/approach – A cross-sectional design was adopted for the study, whereby a sample of companies was selected from the province of Sichuan, China. The questionnaire was distributed via a personally administered method to senior managers. Partial least squares was used for analysing the data. Findings – It was found that market orientation affected e-order-taking, whereas organizational learning affected e-communication, e-procurement and internal administration through e-business technologies, and firm performance. Whilst market orientation was found only to effect e-order-taking and e-communication was found to have a positive influence on firm performance. Research limitations/implications – A limitation of the study is the sample size and obtaining the convenience sample from one province in China. A larger size and broader representation of provinces in China will be a direction for future research. Practical implications – The findings of this study highlight the need for creating an internal organizational culture, which facilitates the adoption of e-business technologies. Specifically, they should develop capabilities such as organizational learning and market orientation prior to the adoption of e-business technologies. Originality/value – The contribution of the study is that the findings provide insight into e-business adoption in China from a resource-based perspective.